Just Do It
by ZombieReader74
Summary: Hear the story of the Republic of Austin, small town America during the Zombie War


Just Do It

(I arrived in The Republic of Austin after a brief 3 hour trip. The pre-war town had a bustling population of 3000, now its hovering just under 100. I met James Menk, a founding father and former Mayor of the now US protectorate.)

(So tell me about Austin and the first outbreak)

Well, the town was founded in 1700 as a French fort. After the Americans took over the territory it was reposessed by the US government and settlers turned it into a hamlet. It grew at a barely stable pace until 1950 when the population stabilized at 3K. Nothing happened in the town of any mention until the outbreak. It was 2 or 3 in the morning when the screams started. I quickly grabbed by rifle and went outside to invesigate. What met me was horrorfying. Mrs. Smith, a nice lady approaching 60 was being attacked by her husband. When I went to break it up I saw Mr. Smith was tearing her apart so I threw him off, Thats when he turned his attention to me. Before I could do or say anything he was on me. I was startled because he was almost as old as his wife and I never had seen him go that fast.

I panicked and shot him in the face, killing the poor bastard. When Mrs. Smith got up I knew what this was about, as the South African attack had already occurred. I quickly disposed of her and went out to adress the crowd gathering on the street out front. I told them about what happened to the couple and assured them that they were the only infected in the house. I shooed the women and children away and told the men to burn the house.

(What happened next?)

Nothing much until the Great Panic. I watching on TV as the country slowly collapsed. We also heard them start telling people to go north which worried me. Our town could barely sustain itself, let alone the thousands that may come. Also what would happen after the trucks that kept the frequently empty shelfs stocked, stopped running. As I was pondering this when I two things happened, the power cut off, we always had a fragile connection with the grid, and a frantic knock at the door. When I opened the door I was met with Joe Kimball and what he told me was startling.

There were hundreds if not thousands of cars coming this way. All filled with scared people. When people are scared they will do anything, and I didn't want my town to be their playground. There were acouple of old trees that we were meaning to take down, so I used them to block the roads. We stood guard all night and had to turn a countless amount of people away. It hurt, but if I wanted my friends and my town to survive, I had to. After a week we got a radio up and working and a former radioman for the Army was tasked to work it as none of us could. Using the military channels we found out about Yonkers and the almost total rout of the government.

(What happened after you guys found out about Yonkers)

Well, after we found out some men just got up and left. Others stayed only because they didn't have the resources to leave. I had to think of something and save the town from desertion. So the next day I gathered all who remained in the city park to announce something mommentus.

(Thats when Austin was founded?)

Yea buddy. The town council and I drafted a Decleration fo Independence and a Constitution. I was declared President of the Republic of Austin and the Council was renamed Congress. The initial reaction was that of disbelief, a Iraq war vet who was very patriotic shouted "What gives you the right to do this?". He didn't understand that in the period between Yonkers and the establishment of the Safe Zone, America was gone. The President was on the run followed closely by what remained of the Army. I explained that to him and a very frumpy expretion came over him, like he knew it but didn't like it.

(Tell me about the Great Panic and how Austin survived)

We survived by isolation and violence. There was a small settlement on Austin terrortory (formally recognized as a US protectiorate). We sent a small party to check them out and demand they leave lest they endanger the rest of the town. Now I admit it was harsh to deny survivors of shelter but they could spell the doom of us. Well the party returned 4 days later with their response, No.

(And thats how the Austin Massacure happened?)

Yes. I sent my entire male population, 400 people, against the some 30 people in the other settlement. Apparently they got carried away and hunted the women and children down when they tried to flee. Don't get me wrong, I don't regret what happened, they brought it upon themselves. But I wish they spared the settlement instead of razing it to the ground. After the massacure the Zacks swarmed the area surrounding Austin. We didn't keep any lights on or go outside until they dispersed. It took a week for them to completley go away. Thats a lot of time for the average Austinite. Lots of people ran out of food in that one week, its not like they had a lot to begin with. When winter hit, I mean the Nuclear Winter after the Iran-Pakistani War, our crops died and so did our animals, and our lake froze so there was no fish. We were forced to eat our dead to survive. We made a lot of sacrafices during the War, our morals were among them.

(What happened when winter ended?)

We became raiders and killers. Austin was situated in a strategic position, along a major trade highway between the Safe Zone and the other Zones. The US wanted us to be friends so they sent a Army envoy to help establish a federal Safe Zone. The people didn't like it so they started to kill the soldiers the US sent. They would ride by on bikes or the like and do a drive by with their bows and arrows. One day a American General came to inspect the defences.

(General Hill)

Yea General Hill arrived early June to inspect the garrison and the people thought it would be awesome to kill him. So they started a riot to cover their tracks and headed off. The Garrison was called to contain the rioters but Hill stayed behind. He was unprotected and unarmed so he was a easy target. Its said he was planning a invasion of Austin when the "Freedom Fighters" kicked In the door. He tried to fight back but was overpowered, so he was brave to say the least. The attackers used a fire axe to hack him to death, then were gone before anyone knew what happened. When the soldiers returned to base to find a very dead General Hill they called me for some god forsaken reason. I went, reluctantly, to see the crime scene and what I saw was almost vomit enducing. It looked like Hill was put in a meat grinder, he was all over the room. I sealed the base and issued a press black out while I worked out what to say to the US. Well somehow some info leaked onto the Presidents desk and he was pissed. He demanded compensation we didn't have on threat of war. I told him we were living on a day to day basis and we couldn't pay him, so on July 4th US troops marched down Main Street and promptly seized contol of the city state. I met their President in Honolulu to work out a deal that was in the least bit favorable. When I left I began to rule over the most recent protectiorate.

(What happened when the US started the Drive to the Atlantic?)

All of the males were drafted and sent to war, all 30 of them. They were formed into Repair units and saw little to no combat. After the War was over 8 returned, not nearly enough to sustain the town. I saw the writing on the wall, Austin had to be annexed or die. I submitted a request and am currently waiting a response. (I look at my notes)

(I think that this is enough. Goodday Mr. President.)

Goodbye, see you never.

(Austin is still independent and the US is still in the process of intergrating them. The CIA also has started to hunt down the Austin Freedom Movement.)


End file.
